Major Achievements/Works

Films

Besides his work as a painter, Warhol was known as a highly prolific filmmaker. Between 1963 and 1968, he made more than sixty films. His most famous one, Sleep (1963), shows a man (John Giorno, who had a relationship with Warhol) sleeping for eight hours. In the 35 minute film Blow Job (1963), he shows the face of David Perlman receiving fellatio. Another, Empire (1964), consists of eight hours of footage of the Empire State Building in New York City at dusk. Warhol's 1965 film Vinyl is an adaptation of Anthony Burgess' popular dystopian novel A Clockwork Orange.

He also appeared as a bartender in The Cars' music video for their single "Hello Again", and Curiosity Killed The Cat's video for their "Misfit" single (both videos, and others, were produced by Warhol's video production company).

Warhol's character has also been represented in several motion pictures. He has been portrayed by Crispin Glover, David Bowie, and Jared Harris, in The Doors, Basquiat, and I Shot Andy Warhol, respectively.

Books and Media

Warhol "wrote" several books.

A, a novel (1968, ISBN 0-8021-3553-6) is a literal transcription -containing spelling errors and phonetically written background noise and mumbling- of audio recordings of Ondine and several of Andy Warhol's friends hanging out at the factory, talking, going out.

The Philosophy of Andy Warhol; from A to B and back again (1975, ISBN 0-15-671720-4) is said to have been written by his Factory friends, and describes Andy Warhol's Pop Philosophy in sound bites and conversations. In the title "from A to B and back again" refers to daily phone conversations between "A" Andy Warhol and "B" Brigid Polk.

Popism: The Warhol Sixties (1980, ISBN 0-15-672960-1), authored by Warhol and Pat Hackett is a retrospective view of the sixties and the role of Pop Art.

The Andy Warhol Diaries (1989, ISBN 0-446-39138-7, edited by Pat Hackett) is an edited diary that was dictated by Warhol to Hacket in daily phone conversations. Warhol started keeping a diary to keep track of his expenses after being audited.

Warhol created the fashion magazine Interview that is still published today. The loopy title script on the cover is thought to be either his own handwriting or that of his mother, Julia Warhola, who would often do text work for his early commercial pieces.

Shooting

On June 3, 1968 , Valerie Solanas, a Factory regular, entered Warhol's studio and fired three shots at Warhol, nearly killing him. Although the first two rounds missed, the third passed through Warhol's left lung, spleen, stomach, liver, esophagus and right lung. Solanas then turned the gun on a companion of Warhol, Mario Amaya, injuring his thigh. Although Warhol survived these injuries, he never fully recovered. Solanas later explained that "he had too much control over my life." The story of Valerie Solanas was made into the 1996 movie I Shot Andy Warhol starring Lili Taylor and directed by Mary Harron.

Warhol's friend Lou Reed, for one, never forgave Solanas for the attack. In 1990 he recorded the album Songs for Drella with fellow Velvet Underground alumnus John Cale, which contained the song I Believe. In it, Reed sang "I believe/I would've pulled the switch on her myself." In other songs on the album, Reed expresses his regrets about not having paid a lot of attention to Warhol in the time before his death.

Warhol himself ultimately forgave Solanas and later satirized the whole event in a subsequent movie, calling a group similar to Solanas' S.C.U.M. (Society for Cutting Up Men), P.I.G. – Politically Involved Girlies.